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Not to mention MINIX is hidden away in almost every modern Intel CPU as part of its Management Engine. This little known fact makes it one of the most widely di

by michh 2y ago

Not to mention MINIX is hidden away in almost every modern Intel CPU as part of its Management Engine. This little known fact makes it one of the most widely distributed operating systems.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Rochus 2y ago
Why did they use Minix and not e.g. L4 or sel4? Which version of Minix did they actually use? There is Minix v3.1 (released in 2005 with the book), 3.2 (released in 2012) and 3.3 (released in 2014).
- actionfromafar 2y ago
  Or Minix 2?
- michh 2y ago
  As to why, no idea. I guess some engineer was just familiar with it from their undergrad days like the rest of us. And which version, I know it’s MINIX 3 but beyond that? No idea. They probably heavily modified it and as Minix is not GPL, Intel never published it. Based on the timelines it’s likely 3.1 as the ME platform has heen around since approximately 2007 iirc.
  - Rochus 2y ago
    > it’s likely 3.1 as the ME platform has heen around since approximately 2007 Then I guess it's one of the 3.1.3x versions released in 2007 (see https://github.com/Stichting-MINIX-Research-Foundation/minix/tags https://github.com/Stichting-MINIX-Research-Foundation/minix...), or maybe 3.1.2 from 2006, depending how long hey had to implement the ME.
- looperhacks 2y ago
  The original L4 (I believe) wasn't commercially available und sel4 is GPL licensed. Minix has a BSD license, so maybe that's why
  - LeFantome 2y ago
    100% because of the license
  - Rochus 2y ago
    The original L4 was written in assembler and replaced by different other implementations long before the ME platform was developed. Pistachio was in development around that time and available under BSD.
- snvzz 2y ago
  Besides what others pointed out, Minix3 is engineered for fault tolerance foremost. seL4 has different goals.
- sillywalk 2y ago
  AIUI Sel4 is just a kernel, so adding all the "management engine crap" - networking stacks, drivers etc. would be a lot of work. Minix came with 'batteries' included.
intelVISA 2y ago
ACM should call on AST to disavow this before receipt of any award.
luyu_wu 2y ago
I'm curious if this is actually true, considering various ARM MCUs and SOCs seem to dominate in quantity. Considering these largely run some sort of Linux or RTOS, I'd be curious to see if MINIX or Linux is more widespread?
chipdart 2y ago
> Not to mention MINIX is hidden away in almost every modern Intel CPU as part of its Management Engine. Sometimes I wonder how the world would be today if MINIX was distributed with a FLOSS license similar to Linux. I think the Linus Torvalds vs Andrew Tanenbaum debate could have been a pivotal moment in tech history by the way MINIX missed a huge opportunity to step up in the history.
- scotteric 2y ago
  And now, Minix is sadly abandoned.

by michh 2y ago

Not to mention MINIX is hidden away in almost every modern Intel CPU as part of its Management Engine. This little known fact makes it one of the most widely distributed operating systems.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Rochus 2y ago

Why did they use Minix and not e.g. L4 or sel4? Which version of Minix did they actually use? There is Minix v3.1 (released in 2005 with the book), 3.2 (released in 2012) and 3.3 (released in 2014).

actionfromafar 2y ago
Or Minix 2?
michh 2y ago
As to why, no idea. I guess some engineer was just familiar with it from their undergrad days like the rest of us. And which version, I know it’s MINIX 3 but beyond that? No idea. They probably heavily modified it and as Minix is not GPL, Intel never published it. Based on the timelines it’s likely 3.1 as the ME platform has heen around since approximately 2007 iirc.
- Rochus 2y ago
  > it’s likely 3.1 as the ME platform has heen around since approximately 2007 Then I guess it's one of the 3.1.3x versions released in 2007 (see https://github.com/Stichting-MINIX-Research-Foundation/minix/tags https://github.com/Stichting-MINIX-Research-Foundation/minix...), or maybe 3.1.2 from 2006, depending how long hey had to implement the ME.
looperhacks 2y ago
The original L4 (I believe) wasn't commercially available und sel4 is GPL licensed. Minix has a BSD license, so maybe that's why
- LeFantome 2y ago
  100% because of the license
- Rochus 2y ago
  The original L4 was written in assembler and replaced by different other implementations long before the ME platform was developed. Pistachio was in development around that time and available under BSD.
snvzz 2y ago
Besides what others pointed out, Minix3 is engineered for fault tolerance foremost. seL4 has different goals.
sillywalk 2y ago
AIUI Sel4 is just a kernel, so adding all the "management engine crap" - networking stacks, drivers etc. would be a lot of work. Minix came with 'batteries' included.

intelVISA 2y ago

ACM should call on AST to disavow this before receipt of any award.

luyu_wu 2y ago

I'm curious if this is actually true, considering various ARM MCUs and SOCs seem to dominate in quantity. Considering these largely run some sort of Linux or RTOS, I'd be curious to see if MINIX or Linux is more widespread?

chipdart 2y ago

> Not to mention MINIX is hidden away in almost every modern Intel CPU as part of its Management Engine. Sometimes I wonder how the world would be today if MINIX was distributed with a FLOSS license similar to Linux. I think the Linus Torvalds vs Andrew Tanenbaum debate could have been a pivotal moment in tech history by the way MINIX missed a huge opportunity to step up in the history.

scotteric 2y ago
And now, Minix is sadly abandoned.